Children's Literature and Culture: Home

Welcome to the Princeton University Library guide to the Cotsen Children's Library.

This guide serves as a starting point for researchers and students interested in primary and secondary sources for children's literature research, childhood studies, and children's culture. Please use the tabs above to explore a range of resources offered by the Princeton University Library.

The Cotsen Children's Library is a very special library within the Department of Special Collections at Princeton University Library. It is home to an international research collection of illustrated children's books, manuscripts, original artwork, prints, and educational toys in English, German, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and dozens of other languages from the fifteenth century to the present day. The library is the benefaction of Lloyd E. Cotsen '50.

The Cotsen collection is non-circulating and used in the Special Collections Reading Room, located in the atrium of the Firestone Library. We continue to provide support for your research, teaching, and learning onsite or remotely. You may--

• Access children's materials listed under Digitized Primary Sources;
• Contact
  • Curator for reference questions, or
  • Metadata Librarian for questions concerning non-Roman language materials;
• Read the curatorial blog for interpretative essays on collection materials;
• Search the online catalog for children's literature resources in the library's general collection that are eligible for pick-up service or in-house digitization.

For the latest policy on onsite services, please check Special Collections - Services & Policies